Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

I watched two episodes of Sunday Without God.

OH WOW IT IS BAD

• The basic premise is that during a somewhat-civilized period of time (my guess is 18th to 19th century), God reveals himself from the heavens to admit that he's screwed up in the creation of Earth and abandons it, leaving every person on the planet to be incapable of dying or giving birth. Alright, that's a pretty neat premise. Unfortunately, the series shoots itself in the foot by completely rejecting the whole "People Can't Die" thing. I'm pretty sure one of the 10 Writing Commandments is "Don't shoot the majority of your premise in the foot!"
• Alright, I'm down with the main character's mother being a gravekeeper and her dying. I'm cool with that. The thing I can't get over is that the little girl's entire village is shaming her into digging graves and dealing with dead bodies...at the age of 7. Seriously, WTF?!?! Yeah, it's basically outright said that the village had ulterior motives behind their decision, but it's pretty jerk-ish to immediately force the child to carry on the torch when the child hasn't been alive for a decade.
• Yeah, that silver-haired guy? He is an absolute douche and HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE THE SECONDARY CHARACTER. He first kills everyone in the girl's village. Ignoring his ultimate nature, I'm fine with that. He then proceeds to prepare everything else such that the little girl can easily bury all the village people that he's killed. Afterwords, he holds a gun to that girl's head while blathering about the girls' purity of spirit being ruined, making hypocritical arguments in the process. This is not a good person and placing that character as the "Protector" of the little girl does not make him any less of a monster than he already is. Also, this douche needs to stop asking questions like it's freaking D&D!
• Let's talk about how death works. As long as the majority of your brain is in one piece, you will be able to function regardless of the state of the rest of your body. Of course, any destroyed limbs/organs are unusable, but they don't affect your ability to live. After a few days of being in this state, you eventually go insane and your instincts kick into overdrive. (So you're a zombie, I guess?) If you unfortunately do not fit the above criteria for living, your body remains lifeless while it is haunted by your spirit. The only way to get rid of this spirit and die for good is for a gravekeeper and ONLY a gravekeeper to properly bury the body. (At least, this is what I got from the show at this stage. The show is so vague with its rules that they could change any episode.)

There's honestly a ton more I could complain about, but I'm tired and I forgot a lot of details already.

@stupidpupil

I'd recommend watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is both highly praised, and highly criticized, it's a highly controversial series that's sparked many debates. Just watch it and try to form and opinion. Personally, it's by far my favorite anime, although there are many who hate it with a passion as much as many love it with a passion. There's not much middle ground on EVA, it's a show you'll love to death or hate with a burning passion.

Also, Fullmetal Alchemist is an amazing show, as well as Trigun and One Piece. Although One Piece is exceedingly long and still going, so based on your requirements, might not be a good fit.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is 26 episodes, and the movie, End of Evangelion, is mandatory as it replaces the last two episodes, which you should watch as well. Alternatively, there is a series of reboot films, with three out, and the final to be released within a year most likely. However, I have not watched these reboots, but have heard both very positive and negative things about it.

Trigun is also 26 episodes and is an excellent show with a great conclusion. Going into it I didn't think I'd like it, heck, my reaction to the first episode was terrible. But now however, it is my 2nd favorite anime. Also, unlike Evangelion which I recommend watching subbed, this I'd say watch it dubbed, as the world of Trigun is canonically English, and the acting is great. There is also a movie, Trigun Badlands, however it plays like an extended filler episode, and is not neccessary to watch, but trust me, you'll want to see it nonetheless.

Fullmetal Alchemist is 51 episodes, and also has a conclusion film, The Conqueror of Shambala. Although I loved this show, many deride it for hugely deviating from the manga about halfway through. If you would like an alternative, the slightly longer show, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, will give you a much stricter adaptation of the manga.

I started watching the most recent Gatchaman reincarnation, Gatchaman Crowds, and I'm enjoying the series. Admittedly there are some really bad pacing problems, with the series wanting to cram so much content into 22 minute time-slots. However, that fast pace combined with the pastel color palette of the show works together in a weird sort of way. Ignoring the stereotypical hyper-effeminate male and the female teenager who refuses to wear nothing but her underwear, I have no other complaints for the show; the art direction is colorful, the jokes are above tolerable (if generic), and it's all a pleasant experience.

YOU DON'T KNOW HOW RELATABLE IT IS

GOD-TIER RELATABLE ONLY, FINAL DESTINATION

But seriously, it's going way beyond coincidence.

@stupidpupil, I'd recommend:

• Dragon Ball/Z
• Rurouni Kenshin
• Yu Yu Hakusho
• InuYasha
• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
• Eureka 7

(not in any particular order)

@RR529 @Rocko52 @GuSilverFlame

Thanks for all the great recommendations, folks!

@stupidpupil i recommend HunterXHunter the 2011 remake version.

So everybody can start calling the show 'Watamote: The Tale of Every Anti-Social Nerd'? Because that's basically what I'm getting from this thread and the majority of Reddit.

Toonami Saturday night!

Bleach - Did... did they just have an entire episode centered around Omaeda? Who asked for this???

Naruto - In a surprising turn of events, Sasuke unexpectedly utilizes a move of a rival to overcome Android 19 (at least that's who I think is under that mask ), and win his match.

One Piece - The crew is still shuffling around, trying to find out what happened to their missing memories, when the memory theif appears, and Luffy confronts him! You know, while the character models can be a bit on the eccentric side, the art is really growing on me (especially the backdrops, since I started watching it in HD). With HD, the bright watercolor splashes & "sketch" artstyle are actually pretty striking.

Soul Eater - Ok, that guy has chainsaw blades all across his body, and that's unique to say the least (Oh, and Crona was priceless: "Please don't squat, it looks like you're going to the bathroom!"). Also, the witch Aracnae has been revealed! Who is she, you ask? She has a grudge against Death, is responsible for the creation of magical weapons (like Soul & Tsubaki), is the older sister of former villain Medusa, and has a very prominent pair of... eyes (seriously, her irises look like spider webs). There's also a new ending, although I liked the former one better.

Sword Art Online - Looks like Kirito has found himself in the middle of a fully fledged murder mystery, as a mysterious player has found a way around the game's safety features, and has started killing players in villages without initiating a duel (which is supposed to be impossible).

Also, they showed the promo for Evangelion 2.22 You Will [Not] Advance tonight, and man does it look like it's going to be absolutely gorgeous in HD (hopefully the channel isn't acting up next week). This is where it looks like things are going to really start changing up from the original series, as there were things in that promo which weren't recognizable at all.

There were also advertisements for the Sword Art Online & Card Fight! Vanguard! trading card games.

somewhat yes, but the similarities are so completely 1:1 even for specific things that it goes way beyond that.

I fell asleep during Naruto and woke up to Zoro saying something about having a good nap,I agreed XD

I'm thinking of watching either Hellsing Ultimate,next,or maybe Trigun

Bleach report time. I just finished episode 214. Episodes 213 and 214 were some of the worst filler ever. It broke realism way too much and was absolutely rediculous, pain, just pain is the feeling while watching those. I was very unhappy when I found out it was a two part filler. It was actually halfway decent and a bit entertaining for the first half of episode 213, but then Don Kanoji showed. I swear everything he touches after his initial episode turns to complete trash that is just pain. I actually turned on the mute button a couple of times to lessen the pain and I started playing "One Step Closer" by Linking Park while I was watching episode 214 because it was fitting. Okay, Rant over.

Bleach still is going pretty strong aside from some select fille though. I also hear that it's not the norm that I like Gin. I've always liked his constant smile, never really got creeped out by him. Always thought he was a pretty cool character.

I take it those were the two Karakuraiser episodes?

Yeah, those were corny as all heck.

Yeah, they were it. I think one would be better off by deciding that all of those events were just a dream of Kon's. There is just no way I can accept what happened in those episodes as actual Bleach story.

That's not uncommon, though. Besides the Bount arc, there is no conceivable way any of the series' filler could logically fit into the story.

This was pretty much the anime's producers saying "hey, wouldn't it be funny to parody Power Rangers with the Bleach cast!?!". Of course, like most Bleach filler, the end result is much to be desired.

@CrimsonFire13

While I can't speak of Hellsing Ultimate, I heartily recommend Trigun.

Since it's been forever since I've done a manga update, I guess I'm overdo.

I've been reading History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi, and it's worked it's way into being a pretty good martial arts story. Finished up chapter 53, and Kenichi has finally had his first heroic moment, where he steps in, starts kicking butt, and saves his friends (unlike characters like Goku, Luffy, Naruto, or Ichigo, he starts out with utterly no talent or confidence whatsoever, even going so far as commonly running away from low ranking foes he could easily beat, as he underestimates the power of his training, and it finally felt good to see him gain the confidence to match the skills he's learned).

It has over 530 chapters, and is still ongoing, so it'll last awhile.

I disagree, a lot of the filler could logically fit into the story. If consider arcs to be filler than I think that all of the filler arcs could fit into the story. I think that a lot of the individual filler episodes could fit into the story as well. A lot of them feel like something that would happen in day to day life. Some of them might push it a little, but I find a lot them believable for the most part.

Well, look at the filler arc that happens after the defeat of Grimmjow for example (the one with the princess they have to protect).

Ichigo is shown to have mastered his hollowfication powers during the arc, so it can't take place before the Hueco Mundo arc (since he doesn't do so until his fight with Grimmjow), and for other reasons I won't mention (as not to spoil anything for you), it can't take place after the Hueco Mundo arc either. And of course, it can't take place during any portion of the Hueco Mundo arc either, for various reasons which should be obvious.

All following stand alone filler episodes that feature characters from this arc (like that weird soccer episode) are also irrelevant too, since this arc would have had to have happened, in order for those characters to be there, and their relashionships to the main cast be forged.